Droplets of Sunshine
by Yusagi
Summary: Rocks fall, and this time someone dies. AU - Were Obito not the one trapped in the cave-in.


AN: Written for a prompt challenge. It's technically a one-shot, but there's a whole alternate timeline I _could_ write from it, too.

* * *

 _Droplets of Sunshine_

 _This isn't how it's supposed to be._

The thought is _ferocious_. For a few moments, his grief and horror become _rage_ , because this isn't _right_ , and _damn it_ , why couldn't he _do_ anything?!

Rin's sobbing is so loud that it echoes off of the walls of the cavern and rattles in his skull. It taunts him, torments him.

 _Rin is hurting_.

He can't do anything to fix it.

He can't help her. He can't help Kakashi. He can't even help himself. He'd waited and wanted to have his sharingan for so long, but in the end, what had it done? He'd been gifted legendary eyes, a dojutsu supposedly better than anything else the world had to offer, and he'd failed to see one little rock.

It wasn't even a _little one_ , actually. He didn't even have that excuse.

His fingers dug into the freshly fallen dirt on the ground.

He's always been a crybaby. He's always been a failure, struggling to prove that he _isn't_ , and Kakashi...Kakashi's always been the one effortlessly pulling through everything. He's always pulled the team down, and Kakashi always pulled them back through.

 _What now_?

He isn't the genius. He's not the one who could find a way to get them all out safely. He's not the one who could remain calm and take Rin away somewhere safe, be cool and aloof and continue on like everything didn't just _fall apart_ because he couldn't carry his own weight.

He's...only...

" _Damn it_!" He slams his fist into the ground, a broken, frustrated sob joining the delicate, painful ones of his teammate. Of Rin. Of the one he wants so _badly_ to protect, to see smile even if it isn't at _him_. " _Damn_ it! Minato-sensei! Sensei where _are_ you?"

It isn't fair at all.

He's falling apart, and the one pinned under the rock doesn't even seem to care. Kakashi Hatake is _dying_ , and it's like it doesn't even _matter_ to him.

"What's..." Kakashi's voice is quiet, rasping out the air that the rock allows him, "...wrong with you? Finish the mission."

" _No_!" Rin shouts, and shaking her head quickly. "No, we won't leave you! We _won't_!"

"Stupid Kakashi..." He scrubs at his eyes. Dust and tears mix, and they burn so much it's a wonder his eyes don't bleed. "I'm never gonna just abandon my _friend_!"

"It's an order..." Kakashi closes the eye still visible, just for a moment. "As your captain. I _order you_...to finish the mission!"

" _No_! No way, I _won't do it_!" It's _stupid_! It's so _stupid_! Why should Kakashi, the one who made it so easily to jounin, have to _die?_

 _It shouldn't be Kakashi_. He's the one that should be dying, not Kakashi. He's the one who _messed up,_ and it's _not fair_!

There are noises outside.

The ones who did this, who captured Rin. The ones that _caused this_. They're outside, gathering around the collapsed cave to search for survivors.

He knows it already. If it were Minato, then he'd already be standing with them, _fixing_ everything.

But he isn't, and he won't. No one can fix it. Nothing can. Not ever.

His fingers clench into fists in frustration. _Why the hell is the world like this?!_

" _Go_." Somehow, that idiot's voice manages to be just as stern and authoritative as always. "Before you _both die_."

" _Kakashi_...!" Rin shakes her head quickly, reaching out for his hand.

With what strength he has left, Kakshi pulls his hand away from her, tucking it close to the rock. He closes his eyes in determination. Or...maybe it's something else. He doesn't have long to live. Not like that. There's...there's _nothing_ that can save him like that. It's obvious. It's _obvious_.

If they stay here, trapped in this hole, their enemies will be able to kill them.

If they stay...If they stay, then it won't just be his friend. He won't fail one person, he'll fail _everyone_.

He'll fail Rin.

He knows. He _knows_.

He does.

 _"Damn it_!"

It's never hurt so much to touch Rin. He's carried her before, swept her off of her feet and pretended to be some kind of fictional hero while they ran away from enemies and looked for Kakashi, or Minato, or a safe place to hide. He's never felt so much like a coward. He's never felt so powerless and helpless.

He's never hated himself or anything else so much as he hates himself _now_.

Rin screams, she cries, she clings to him as if it isn't somehow his fault.

He thinks he sees himself as a failure, when he looks into the sadness in his sensei's eyes.

He doesn't know what he'll do.

)-(

Frankly speaking, he can't _stand_ their replacement teammate, and it's got absolutely nothing to do with it not being Kakashi. He's never really liked Gai (seriously, you should find a rival on your _own_ team, not just steal someone else's teammate because they're cooler!), and unsurprisingly extended time around him hasn't changed that.

The war is almost over, though. Soon, teams will be the people they work well with, the people they like. There's going to be peace, and he'll do everything in his power to make sure it never changes.

There won't be another war.

He won't _let_ there be another war.

He wishes he could think of something profound to say, but in the end he always ends up coming to the stone of heroes and staring at it instead. Kakashi isn't here. He's buried in an unmarked grave in the wrong nation, where no one will ever find him or care.

He probably likes it.

He grits his teeth in irritation and frustration.

A light hand taps him on the head and he startles slightly, looking over his shoulder. Rin is grinning up at him, bright as the sun that shines overhead. Maybe even brighter, because looking at it makes his chest squeeze tight, like he can't breathe.

For a while, he'd been afraid she'd never smile again.

"You've gotten so tall, now!" She's on her toes just to reach up and pat his head. It feels nice, her fingers in his hair, and he ducks his head away, cheeks pink more than just because she's teasing him.

"It's...well it's not like I was going to stay short forever, you know."

"I used to be the taller one! Now I have to look up at you like this." She leans into his view, face upturned, eyes sparkling in amusement.

It takes effort not to fall backwards, it really does. If it were anyone else, he'd believe that she's trying to fluster him on _purpose_. But that can't be. She loves Kakashi. He's known that for a long time, and death doesn't just make those feelings go away.

He stares off into the sky, rubbing at his neck. "Well, uh...you could hit your growth spurt soon, too."

"You think so?" She laughs, voice just as clearly dubious as her expression would have been if he could make himself look. "I wonder if I would..."

" _FRIENDS_!" Gai's voice is actually _so loud_ that it booms and echoes through the entire cemetery.

He really tries not to look visibly annoyed. After all, they're teammates. Even if he _really, really_ didn't want to be. Rin looks too amused for his attempt to have been very successful.

"Gai..." He turns his head just in time to see a green flash flicker across the path in their direction. A moment later, his boisterous new teammate skidded to a halt next to them. Hands on his hips. _Already on his hips_. Like he'd just _run_ that way and no one could tell because he was too quick for anyone to see how ridiculous it looked.

"We have a new mission!"

"Today...?" Rin frowns and glances over at him. "But isn't it supposed to be..."

"That one's been cancelled!" Gai grins like that's the most exciting news in the village. Which...well, that's just not something Obito expects from his energetic companion. "We have a _new_ one now."

He squints. "...A new one that's _today_? What is it?"

For once, that manic grin of his fades slightly. Rather than boundless energy, all that's left is kindness, and an edge of sympathy that makes him want to impulsively _punch_ his teammate instead of listen to anything else. He doesn't need sympathy. He's the last person in the world who deserves _sympathy_.

Though it takes more effort than he'd like to admit, he does manage not to attack his teammate.

"We're escorting the Hokage to sign a peace treaty. The war is over."

He knows how much Kakashi would be irritated. He knows all the insults and the teasing that Kakashi would toss at him for it.

He still can't help it that he bursts into tears.


End file.
